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The Day After I Stood Up David Bowie
I had to almost lose the interview of a lifetime to get it.
Over my nearly three decades as a professional journalist, I’ve interviewed an abundance of talented musical artists, many of whom are instantly identifiable by just one word: Babyface, Britney, Cher, Cyndi, Dolly, Enrique, Enya, Gwen, Mariah, Mary, Pink, Sting, Bowie.
My all-time favorite? Well, let’s just say I saved the best for last.
Anyone who’s met me in person probably has heard my David Bowie story. If I could put one irrelevant fact on my tombstone — which I probably won’t have since I’m going to be cremated — it would be this one: I interviewed Bowie … twice!
During the 1970s, well before I first head of him — via “Under Pressure,” his 1981 duet with Queen — Bowie (aka Ziggy Stardust, aka The Thin White Duke) already had established himself as the ultimate chameleonic rocker. He was the man who fell to earth and inspired generations of future shape-shifting music stars, from Madonna to Lady Gaga.
He never sold as many records as contemporaries like Elton John, Eric Clapton, Freddie Mercury, Mick Jagger, and Rod Stewart, or enjoyed as many hit singles in the U.S., but he left just as large and indelible an imprint. If anyone ever decides to make a Bowie biopic, it probably…
